


As lovely as fruity tea and whisky

by BlissfulDetectives



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Dad Stephen Strange, Depending on whether people want it, First Meeting, M/M, Maybe a oneshot but may also add chapters in the future, Not yet superheroes, Peter is adorable, Single Parents, Toddler Peter Parker, dad tony stark, peter is a stark, supermarket au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-05-30 08:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15093344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlissfulDetectives/pseuds/BlissfulDetectives
Summary: Single dad Tony Stark is out shopping with his two-year-old son Peter when he bumps into another single father Stephen Strange - who Tony feels an instant connection to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, so this was a tumblr request that i decided to post here. It's my first ever ironstrange fic as well as my first ever post on ao3 so sorry if it's a bit shitty. Any feedback/kudos will be appreciated more than you can know :)

_Sugar…check._

_Eggs…check._

_Cake mix…check._

Tony unscrunched the list he’d written himself for what had to be the tenth time, his messy little scrawls probably only he could decipher allowing the words to travel into his brain and signal what items were left to be obtained.

“Da!” Peter screamed at the top of his lungs. His two-year-old had dropped his fluffy spider Spidey, again, and the mechanic was forced to bend down and pick it up. “Seriously Pete, I’m gonna have to glue that to your hands soon otherwise you’ll be wheeling dada around in a wheelchair before you hit double figures.” He chuckled, rubbing his back as the toddler put the teddy in his mouth, babbling nonsense in between slobbers. He flashed his son another smile and focused his attention back onto the list, frowning at the fact that he had to squint to read his own handwriting. He really did need to get around to putting together a system that could notify him regarding things he needed for situations such as this. He was in the process of creating one, but his time had been taken up by Peter so much lately that he just didn’t have the time. Over a year had passed since Peter’s mother Pepper had passed and even though the boy could be a handful sometimes, there was nothing in this entire universe that Tony would not do for him. Plus, this system he was making still needed a name. Jarvis and a few others such as Gizmo and Axel were on the list, and every time he absentmindedly asked his two-year-old he’d been given a very undecipherable word as way of reply.

“Right…vegetables we need now, Pete.”

“Blergh!”

“Blergh is right, but has to be done kid.” Pushing the trolley with his arms folded over the handles, Tony made his way to the fruit and veg isle. After throwing a bag of tomatoes and a few boxes of fruit in the trolley, he eventually picked up a few carrots. Peter loved eating carrot sticks. Finding one with quite a lengthy and leafy top, Tony suddenly grinned, before beginning to tickle Peter’s nose with it until the toddler was giggling hysterically in his seat, trying and failing to squirm out of the way. “Okay kid, just a few more bits now and then I’ll take you the park. How does that sound?” Receiving only unintelligent words in reply, he carried on along the isle - not really paying much attention to the other customers around him. In a world full of so many other beings he had only ever had the time and energy to notice his son since the day he was born. Even more so since they both lost Pepper. He could vaguely hear children playing around and mothers barking at them to behave, things being thrown into trolleys, someone trying to catch the attention of another customer but to no avail and even someone having an argument on the phone. The world passed him by these days. If he wasn’t taking care of Peter he was tinkering with anything and everything in his garage and working whenever he could fit it in. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d-

“Excuse me!” Tony was snapped out of his reverie by someone standing directly beside him. When had that happened? “I think the little boy dropped this.” A girl of about six or seven with long black hair was stood next to the trolley staring up at him through bright blue eyes with a mix of green - she had her hair in two slightly askew ponytails either side of her head and was wearing a blue dress and smart shoes. In her hands was Spidey, which Peter squealed for once he became aware of it. “Thank you sweety, he must have dropped it when we were carrot fighting.” Tony smiled at her as she handed it back to Peter.

“That’s a black widow isn’t it?” she asked curiously.

“Sorry?”

“The teddy. It has the same pattern as a black widow. What’s its name? I think this one is a boy because it doesn’t have the red hourglass shape on it’s belly.”

“His name is Spidey but I don’t think these toys have genders,” he replied, beginning to get bewildered at the speed she was speaking.

“Oh, right. But did you know-”

“Sorry, sweety but won’t your mother be wondering where you are?” asked Tony pinching the bridge of his nose. She was already starting to give him a headache.

“My mom’s dead. I’m with my dad,” she replied as if her words held no value. This startled Tony. “Well where is he?”

She gazed around but didn’t have to for long. “Right there, he’s coming down this isle!” Pointing straight ahead, Tony followed her finger and saw a man of about 6ft with black hair and goatee stalking towards him as if the supermarket and all its contents were under his ownership.

“Andromeda, you aren’t bothering this man are you? He probably has better things to do than listen to you talk about why the grass is green.” The comment may have sounded harsh, but the man chuckled and softly put his hand on the girl’s head.

“Actually she was just informing me of the species, gender, age and marital status of my son’s toy,” replied Tony with a laugh, taking note of how much of an upper-class mouthful the child’s name seemed. Upon closer inspection of her father, despite him having the same hair colour as his daughter, had little strands of silver along the sides that were tucked neatly behind his ears. He must only have been five or so years younger than himself, and Tony couldn’t help but notice how smooth his skin was or how his eyes were the same colour as his daughter’s with the only difference being that each eye was pigmented so were completely different in pattern. Was that a brown freckle above his right pupil? _Wow._ He was also clad all in blue like Andromeda, making the pair seem a double act that were not to be messed with. Boy, did they sure look exactly alike. Tony thought it was kind of cute.

“Oh I’m sorry, once she’s found someone new to talk to I can’t even attempt to stop her. She can go for hours.”

“Oh, well in that case I’m guessing that’s my cue to run,” Tony joked, watching fondly as the girl began to count the spider’s legs with hers and Peter’s fingers. “She seems really intelligent.”

“Oh, she is - she’s obsessed with trying to fill her head with new information. Top of her class at the minute. I couldn’t be prouder of her. Wait, sorry - I haven’t even introduced myself have I? I’m Stephen Strange.” The man held out his hand for Tony to take, which he did immediately.

“Bit strange for a surname,” Tony chuckled, flashing him a wink. “Tony Stark. Nice to meet you.”

“If I had a dollar for every time someone had said something like that to me…” Stephen trailed off with an exasperated laugh.

“What, you’d be rich?”

“Eh, more like living really comfortably without money troubles.”

Tony raised and eyebrow, taking in Stephen’s expensive-looking blue attire and his daughter’s dress. “What do you do, do you live around here?” he decided to ask as they both carried on walking with their trolleys. For some reason unbeknownst to him he had the sudden urge to know as much as possible about the man.

 _Probably because you’re attracted to him. No surprise there,_ said a voice in the back of his skull.

It really wouldn’t be, the man was…the only way Tony could describe him would be divine. As he took in every visual detail, his brain was registering the words coming out of Stephen’s mouth at the same instance. Oh, he was a neurosurgeon too. Working in a hospital not far from the supermarket.

“What about you?”

“Oh, I’m a mechanic. I do odd jobs here and there but most of the time the things I fix are just my own projects. Things that may make mine and Peter’s life easier, y'know?” He turned to check his son, who was still giggling loudly with Andromeda now doing Insy Winsy Spider on the palm of his hand.

Stephen nodded. “I don’t work full-time anymore. Just the important cases so I can spend as much time with Andromeda as possible.” He leant over a basket to pick up some boxes of teabags. Tony remembered that the girl had said quite bluntly that her mother was dead, but decided not to mention it to the man he’d just met. Instead, he decided to change the subject. “Fruit teas? How many different ones are you getting?” He watched as Stephen put a variety of different types of the stuff in his trolley. “I like the more herbal types of tea. Makes me feel more refreshed and helps the mind.”

“Ahh, guess that’s part of the whole neurosurgeon thing. Always been an avid coffee drinker myself.” As he spoke, he tried to reach his favourite brand of said drink, refusing to stand on his tip toes.

“Shall I help?” Stephen asked. Tony could feel the smirk lining the man’s lips despite having his back to him. “Nope, I’m perfectly fine thanks.” His fingertips just grased the box and instead of bringing it closer, pushed it further into the shelf. He cursed under his breath.

“Really Stark, it’s no trouble,” Stephen laughed, and even though the laugh rang through Tony’s ears like a windchime he did his best to pretend he was annoyed, watching as he easily reached for the coffee and placed it in Tony’s trolley. “As adorable as it was to watch you struggle, my overriding need to help those in need got the better of me.”

“My superhero,” Tony replied, sarcasm seeping through his voice like poison.

“I suppose that’s one way of phrasing it but I think doctor sounds just fine.” Tony didn’t know whether to be annoyed at the fact Stephen seemed to be so narcissistic or happy that he seemed to be just as narcissistic as himself. He already deduced the man to be the type of person people would probably wish they didn’t like but couldn’t seem to help it. He was definitely already one of those people and he’d only known him ten minutes. Giving the doctor another quick glance, he decided to make it his mission to ask him out before they reached the end of the last isle. Considering they were at the end of the penultimate, that didn’t give him long. But since when had the great Tony Stark, known for his devilishly handsome looks and ability to get the girl/boy, wavered in confidence? _Never._

Carrying on their conversation about tea, working their separate jobs and the joys of having their kids, they finally reached the end of that last isle. The alcohol selection was featured here. “Ahh, I love a good whisky,” said Tony, putting a couple of bottles in his trolley. “What about you Strange? What do you drink?”

“Usually, I don’t. What with working and Andromeda I never have the time. I do enjoy wine when I go to the occasional dinner party, though.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “I’m guessing all the expensive 1990s stuff and Champaign, right? Nothing from the likes of here?”

“Actually I don’t mind the Rosé from here. It leaves a nice aftertaste on the tongue.” He picked up a bottle of the supermarket’s own version of Rosé and put it in his trolley.

“Spoken like a true socialite out wine-tasting with her friends,” sniggered Tony. 

“Excuse me, I’ll have you know that I don’t sip this stuff every twenty minutes. I can knock Rosé back quicker than you could get your garage door shut.”

“Well considering I invented a mechanism which makes it open and close in under 3 seconds I very much doubt that. But I’ll place a bet anyway,” he smirked seductively, knowing this was his moment.

Stephen laughed. “A bet on what?”

“A bet that if ever given the chance, you can’t chug down even half of a bottle of Rosé in ten seconds. There, I’ve given you more seconds _and_ less to drink.”

“And when would you suppose this chance should arise?” asked Stephen with a raised eyebrow, starting to push his trolley towards the till.

“Dinner and drinks with me. We can both get babysitters?” he winked, hoping his wooing had worked. He hoped Peter was paying close attention to these life skills he was showing him. He turned - nope, still farting about with Andromeda. Typical.

“I’m flattered, but if I’m not with my daughter I need to be working.”

_Ouch._

“Everyone can book time off Strange.” Although hesitant, the man appeared to think it over properly as he emptied the contents of his trolley onto the till. “Well, maybe I could clear my schedule for one night. As long as it’s quite in advance. And by that I mean I’ll need at least a couple of weeks.”

_Bingo._

“Sure thing.” He rifled into his back pocket and fished out his crumpled shopping list and took a small pencil he usually kept behind his ear for drawing up blueprints for inventions. Scribbling down his cell number in his pathetic excuse for handwriting, he all but threw the paper at Stephen. “Here’s my number. Am I an idiot if I’m expecting to get a message from you?”

“Pfft,” laughed Stephen, taking it and pocketing it.

Once both outside the supermarket after having paid for their groceries, Tony and Stephen were then left with the task of prying the two children away from each other. “Hey darling, Mr Stark and Peter have to go now. But I’m sure you’ll see Peter again soon.”

Tony smirked at that. “Really?”

“Well, y'know, it’s something you have to say to them isn’t it. Just to avoid disappointing them.” By Stephen’s hidden smile, Tony saw the lie underneath the doctor’s words.

He replied sarcastically. “Oh yeah, of course. Come on Peter, we’re gonna go the park aren’t we?” The toddler cheered, throwing Spidey up in the air. Andromeda put her hands on her hips and pouted. “Be careful Peter or you’re going to lose him.” She picked up the toy and gave it back to him, stroking his mop of brown hair before going to stand next to her dad, who stared at her in bewilderment and laughed. “She gets that from me, I’m not going to lie.”

Tony smiled warmly, a thought crossing his mind. “Do you two want to come with us? To the park?”

Stephen’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ in surprise, but then shook his head. “Me and Andromeda are actually going to have a father and daughter night. Eat lots of snacks, watch all the films that she’s been begging me for weeks to watch with her, y'know.”

Tony nodded. “Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you soon Strange,” he winked and both parents went separate ways across the parking lot to their cars. “Make sure you call me!” Tony called when Stephen and Andromeda were about six-hundred yards away. He turned back just to see Stephen holding up the hand that wasn’t tightly held onto Andromeda’s as a gesture of what Tony hoped to be agreement.

-

Once he’d placed the carrier bags full of groceries in the boot of his car and had Peter and Spidey safely strapped into his car seat, he fell into the driver’s seat. After a few minutes, he turned on the radio to hear David Bowie, which he was thankful for. After a few more minutes, just as he was about to turn the key to the engine and pull out of the parking lot, his cell phone pinged. A message lit up on the screen. Upon opening it, he saw that it was a single sentence from a new number.

_You’re still an idiot Stark._

He let out a chuckle, which grew into a joyous laugh. As he drove to the park, he reflected on his meeting with Stephen Strange. The man was handsome, funny and had a similar personality to that of his own. Not to mention they each had amazing kids who seemed to get along like a motel on fire despite the age gap. But most importantly of all, in a world of so many other beings, Tony had now noticed one that wasn’t his son.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has finally come for Stephen and Tony's first date since meeting at the supermarket. How will Stephen find it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait in between the first and second chapter - I had my graduation and went on holiday so didn't have the time to post but I've been writing this over the past week. Thanks so much for all the feedback on chapter one - please keep it coming because it really helps me see how my writing is doing.

  
Stephen Strange would certainly never classify himself as being the type of person to go on dates. Especially not with somebody he had just met in a supermarket and had only seen in the flesh on one occasion. But yet here he found himself - standing in front of his mirrored closet wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans, grey t-shirt and leather jacket ready to do exactly that. He sighed in exasperation.

 _Why did he agree to this again? Oh, yes_. Because this Tony Stark, for some bizarre reason, had had this very unexpected but yet not unwelcome effect on Stephen from the moment he'd opened his mouth.

Despite only sharing a brief encounter with the mechanic, the man had been able to actually make Stephen genuinely laugh. Excluding Andromeda, nobody had been able to succeed in doing so since her mother Christine had died over five years ago from multiple myeloma.

He and Tony had been texting constantly since meeting at Wal-Mart over three weeks ago, and in that time Stephen had come to know him like they had been friends for years. While lightly combing the fingers of his left hand through his slicked back hair, he used his other to scroll through their most recent messages from one another.

_**Are you awake?** _

_Yes, have been since 5.30._

_**Jesus, who gets up at 5.30 Strange?** _

_I told you I always meditate for at least an hour before having to wake Andromeda for school. What are you doing awake?_

**_Tinkering. You're still on for tonight, right?_ **

_Of course. I can hardly refuse to show up when I chose to give you my actual number Stark. That would be very foolish of me._

_**Shut up.** _  
_**I'll see you at 8.**_

_Maybe._

_**Definitely.** _

Stephen let out a soft laugh. How could words that were not verbally spoken give him such intense butterflies? How could he even still get butterflies at his age? God, he felt like a teenager.

"Oooh daddy you look really pretty!" He saw his daughter standing at the doorway to his room through his mirror. She looked so excited - beaming with her hands covering her rosy cheeks.

"Thanks, darling," he flashed her a smile. "Have you brushed your teeth?"

"Not yet. Beyoncé was showing me how to make origami flowers."

"Was he now? Well you'll have to make me something nice for me to hang in my office."

"Oh yes!" She turned on the spot and was about to sprint back down the hallway and down the stairs.

"-But not tonight! You can make some more in the morning, I'm going to tell Beyoncé that I'm putting a film on for you, okay?" She nodded. "Now go and brush your teeth."

-

It was 7pm. After stuffing his keys, cell phone and wallet into his jeans and jacket pockets and deciding to spray himself with yet another wisp of cologne, Stephen went downstairs and saw Wong, his closest friend whom he'd met at meditation therapy after Christine had died sitting on the couch engrossed in a book. It was something that was suggested to Stephen by one of the senior nurses at the hospital him and his wife had worked at at the time. He had been sceptical over the whole thing, but had found that meditation was actually a huge reliever of stress and sadness. It certainly didn't stop his pain, but it did help in easing it. Wong had been his therapist at the time and had taught him a lot and had hence healed a lot. They had been friends ever since.

"You look..." the man trailed off with his eyebrows raised as he took in Stephen's appearance.

"Nice?"

"I was going to say under-dressed, actually," he turned his attention back to the book he was reading. Something about breathing techniques.

Stephen snorted. "Just because you feel it a necessity to wear monk-like tunics most of the time doesn't mean everybody does. Andromeda thought I looked pretty."

"She thinks rocks are pretty too," he dabbed his finger onto his tongue and turned the page.

"That glittery black one we found at the beach was, you have to give her that. She knew the scientific name and everything."

Wong stared at him with an appraising look. "Good God, you've met this man once and already he's turned you as bent as one of those curly straws." 

"Shut up Beyonce," Stephen replied fondly. The nickname was one both he and Andromeda used for the man during periods when he was being particularly annoying as a reference to the fact that nobody ever used his surname.

"Must you keep calling me that?" Wong asked, bemused.

"I can always change it to Eminem if you'd prefer. Or perhaps Voldemort?"

"Very funny. Haven't you got somewhere to be in-" he checked his watch. "Three quarters of an hour?"

Stephen let out a nervous laugh. "Yes. I've called a cab for twenty-past. Andromeda is going to watch a film in her bedroom. Just make sure to check on her every now and then. Don't feed her anything else."

"She isn't a goldfish Stephen. Isn't there some sort of babysitting rule whereby the babysitter is supposed to let the child do whatever they want?" he teased.

"And that, Voldemort, is why I asked _you_. You run as tight a ship as me and keep to safe and healthy regimes. Not to mention you bore people to tears so any bedtime stories from you will send her straight off to sleep."

"No, you asked me because I'm all you have." That was Wong. Always said it like it was. The words were like a bite to Stephen, but he knew not to take him seriously. Part of the reason why he liked Wong so much was because he told the truth when he needed to hear it rather than sugarcoating everything like everyone else. He gave Stephen harsh realities where others drowned him in pity and fake smiles ever since Christine's death. But he knew in himself that he needed something else now. Something other than Wong - something that could be both warm and real at the same time. There was Andromeda of course. She was the light of his life and always would be. But he needed something more.

_Is this why he was going on this date?_

He'd been asking himself this since he chose to give Stark his number. Stephen had been numb for so long and even though he felt comfortable and trusting towards Wong, he hadn't felt real joy for a long time. He knew he needed to start grasping at opportunities like this again and experience the unknown like he always had done in the past. For his daughter's sake at the very least. So, that was why, at 7.25pm Stephen hopped into a cab and told the driver the address to the restaurant Tony had chosen.

 _For something new_ , Stephen thought.

-

The restaurant wasn't the usual type Stephen went for. He was used to fine dining and dinner reservations but he had deduced that Tony was not one for those. Giovanni's wasn't that, but it was a nice Italian with a warm atmosphere. Stephen hadn't batted an eyelid when Tony suggested the place. He had all but encouraged it. It was bright and not exactly quiet and candlelit, but Stephen didn't care. He had arrived just before 7.45pm and Tony was not yet there. He had seated himself at a two-seater table near the back facing away from the door. Why? Maybe he didn't want to feel himself getting hopeful every time the door opened only for it to reveal someone who wasn't Tony. Or maybe he didn't want the waiter seeing how disappointed he was when that occurred or even pull a ridiculously giddy and excited face if he was to see Tony approaching the table. He'd rather just not think about these things at all, but that was him all over. Thinking far too much at far too fast a pace. That was one of the things Wong had tried teaching him to suppress at therapy, but he didn't think he ever truly mastered it. He was always anxious about something these days despite not always showing it. Right now it was clearly of the mechanic not showing up at all.

7.50pm. The waiter came over and asked if he wanted a drink. "No thank you, I'll wait until my partner arrives."

_Partner? Should he have said friend? Should he have even bothered coming at all?_

He ran his fingers nervously through his hair. The man still had over ten minutes before he could be classed as late and Stephen told himself this and to calm down. He just wasn't used to going on dates. Even with Christine, he had been friends and colleagues with her for years before they had begun dating so he had never truly felt what a date with someone he barely knew was like.

7.55pm. The restaurant wasn't too spacious, so he both heard the door to the entrance opening and felt a slight draft from it for what had to be the eighth time since arriving. He thought nothing of it - believing that he'd gained slight control of his nerves in the space of the last four minutes.

"Hey Ferdy - I'm meeting someone here at eight. Is he here yet?" Stephen's head snapped up at that voice, but he didn't dare to look around. He felt his eyes going wide and he sat up straighter, trying to arrange his face, position and mannerisms to make himself presentable and to hopefully give off the impression that he hadn't been falling apart at the seams since 7.40pm.

_What had Wong been reading earlier? Ah, breathing techniques. Use them._

He took a deep breath as he heard footsteps approaching. A quick thought emptying process he'd been taught and one last deep breath.

"Strange!" Tony Stark was stood directly above him, beaming down at him with his rose tinted glasses on. His hair seemed different than it was in Wal-Mart, but then so was his own. They'd both made a considerable effort to impress, it seemed.

"Stark," his chair scraped behind him as he stood to meet Tony's...well to stare down at Tony's eyes. _Had he gotten smaller or had his anxiety just grown bigger?_ "You look...just as small as last time."

"Very funny. You look quite the dish yourself," he flashed Stephen a wink, whose throat fell into his stomach.

Tony sat in the chair opposite and noticed Stephen didn't have a drink. "Have you been here long?"

"Not at all," Stephen tried playing it cool. "I wanted to wait until you got here to order anything."

"How cute. Have you seen the menu? What do you fancy?"

 _You_.

He had in fact seen the menu. Back to back, countless times. As soon as Tony had mentioned going to Giovanni's he'd memorized every starter, main course, drink and dessert. "No. Like I said I was waiting for you."

"Ferdy! Can we get some menus over here please?"

"Are you guys friends or something?" Stephen asked, taken aback at how confident Tony seemed just throwing requests out like that.

"Oh yeah. He's Giovanni's nephew. The whole family come to me when they're having car trouble. Peter always eats free and they're all great people - family run business y'know. Not to mention the food is amazing."

Stephen smiled. There was something sweet at the idea of Tony taking him somewhere he truly loved with people he knew. Somewhere that meant something.

There were those butterflies coming back again. _Oh joy_.

The young man brought the menus over. "I'm guessing it'll be the usual for you, Mister Tony?"

"Yes, but do me a favour and don't send it through until Stephen's chosen what he wants. Just so he can look through the menu."

"Oh, no it's fine. I'll have a small glass of the blush pinot grigio and the prawn and salmon tagliatele with the white wine sauce."

Tony raised an eyebrow as Ferdy wrote down Stephen's order. "I thought you hadn't seen the menu?"

"Well I hadn't tonight. I'd glanced at it when you mentioned coming here."

"Glanced?" he laughed. "Sounds like you memorized the whole thing." Stephen chuckled, deciding not to inform Tony of exactly how accurate that was.

"Well I did tell you I have a photographic memory. It's how I got my M.D. and-"

"-and your PhD at the same time. I remember you telling me." Stephen thought he saw a glint of admiration and awe in the other man's smile.  
   
"Well, yes. But put me in your job any day and I garauntee I would learn what one thing was and then have no recollection of its usage the next time I saw it."

"Well I'll have to teach you someday then. And who knows, maybe you can teach me how to get a dead brain working again."

Before Stephen could answer, Ferdy reappeared with his and Tony's drink. He smiled as he watched Tony take a sip of his single malt whisky. "I thought as much." 

"I did say I love whisky. I'm half surprised you didn't ask for ginger tea or whatever it is you like."

Stephen made a face. "I've never even heard of ginger tea. I have a huge soft spot for lemon and apple tea though."

"They all sound awful. Why not just settle for a good-old-fashioned teabag with hot water and milk?" he flashed the doctor a cheeky smile.

"Because I'm not boring?" they both snorted. "No, I guess since losing Christine I just tried anything and everything to fix mine and Andromeda's lives. Therapy introduced me to a whole range of weird shit like various therapeutic foods and drinks but it actually ended up helping more than I ever thought possible." After not knowing how to best approach the subject of Christine with Tony, Wong had eventually reminded him with a roll of his eyes that talking about sensitive issues was better emotionally than bottling them up - so hence he shared his loss with Tony over text. He'd wanted him to know. "Herbal teas help to stimulate the senses, meditation helps to stimulate the soul. I always try to get as much sleep as possible and breathing techniques really help prevent panic attacks."

Tony's eyes went wide. "Panic attacks. You get those?"

"Not anymore. I used to all the time. Especially after going back to work. They told me it would be good for me to get back into the swing of things and keep busy but how can they have asked that of a man who worked in the same hospital that his wife had died in? Who'd worked beside her in that hospital for years?"

"You were both at the same hospital?" A nod. "Wow, I'm sorry. I knew you said you guys were both Doctors but I didn't realise you worked together. That sounds agonising." There was a pause, then a shaky intake of breath. "I get panic attacks. Even now."

Stephen raised his eyebrows. "How often?"

"Depends how often I dream about her. They used to be constant. At one point I was advised to put Peter into temporary foster care because my doctor didn't think I was healthy enough to properly care for him." He sneered. "But it somehow got better. Stopped having them as much. I knew I needed to be strong for him so I somehow willed myself to get a grip. Now its just when I have a particularly bad dream about her."

Stephen nodded. "That's what I was like. I knew I needed to be the best father I could be and that I needed to step up and take on the role of her mother as well. I had the support that I needed to get me back."

"Pepper always supported me and my skills. Said I would be a millionaire inventor one day." He had a distant look in his eyes, like he was reminiscing on the good times. After Tony texting Stephen stating that he would rather tell him about Pepper's death when they were face to face, Stephen sensed that he was now working up to it.

"I mean, I did actually have a decent job working for a weapons manufacturer back then. One day, I was in my garage tinkering with a project I'd been given by my boss - it was sort of like a bomb that didn't blow up and just fired off bits of shrapnel. And she would always come in and help when I needed an extra pair of hands. So I'd asked her to hold the thing steady while I sealed up the top of it and..." he closed his eyes and grasped his hands together on top of the table. "Uhm, my fingers slipped. It was only a tiny brush over the wrong wire and in that second I'd forgotten how sensitive it was. Which is ridiculous considering that's what one of its features were." He laughed without humour. "My fingers slipped and that was all it took. The shrapnel just flew out of the front of it and impaled a couple of her major arteries. Dead before the ambulance got to her."

Stephen watched the flood of emotions coursing through the mechanic's face. He knew it must have took him a lot to tell him, and he felt that it must take a certain type of person to get Tony Stark to reveal such trauma to a person he barely knew. This made him appreciate the gesture all the more. "I'm so sorry Tony." He didn't think he had ever meant anything as sincerely before this.

The man smiled. It looked watery. "You called me Tony."

"That is your name, is it not?"

"I thought we were just gonna be stuck calling each other by our surnames. I don't know how I feel about this sudden change - I think we're moving too fast."

Stephen scoffed. "Shut up Stark."

"No. Tony. I like the way you say it." The way the man spoke now was as if something had clicked inside of him within the last minute. As if the conversation had resulted in him seeing Stephen in a different light. Stephen wondered whether Tony now felt more trusting of him since opening up. He certainly sensed that talking about his wife's death lifted a weight off his shoulders. This made him smile with admiration. He refrained from praising him out loud.

"Ahh, I think this is ours." Tony exclaimed, looking behind Stephen. As his lasagne and Stephen's own tagliatele were placed in front of them, Tony gazed up at Stephen and gave him a huge smile before picking up his knife and fork and beginning to tuck in.

-

Through their meal, they strayed far away from conversations concerning the deaths of their wives and focused instead on their children, jobs and hobbies.

"So tell me," said Tony, now on his fourth whisky. They had long since finished their food and had somehow gotten to the point in a date where personal space gets completely forgotten and eye contact increases by 100%. "Where did you come up with the name Andromeda?" They were both leaning forwards across the table to the point where their arms were brushing.

"I know it's very Harry Potter-ish, but me and Christine always had a shared love of the solar system. Any chance we got before Andromeda was born we'd go camping under the stars. We couldn't think of many girls names that we actually liked, and then she suggested a few constellation names and Andromeda was one we were both in love with."

"It is beautiful. She suits it a lot. I mean, Peter is adopted so we obviously couldn't choose his name. But we didn't care. He was beautiful and he needed parents who loved him. There were a lot of things me and Pep couldn't be. But we could be that for him."

Stephen was taken aback. "You didn't say he was adopted."

"Sorry, I forget all the time. Everyone says he's so much like me in every way that I always forget. But he's mine in every sense so I never class him as anything other than a Stark."

"That makes sense. You want to be the best father you can be to make up for the fact that he was given up. You want to show him the best possible example of a parent." He nursed his fourth pinot grigio, starting to feel the affects of the alcohol inside it. He could relate to Tony so much and that made the connection between them feel all the more stronger to Stephen. He knew he was smiling ridiculously at the mechanic, but he didn't care because he saw the exact same smile mirrored across from him.

"Yeah, exactly. And its not just about wanting to be everything for him. I do, but now I _need_ to be everything for him because Pepper is gone. Like you said, we need to be their moms as well as their dads. Ain't easy but we're getting there right?" he raised his glass and signalled for Stephen to do the same.

"To getting there." They clinked their glasses together.

Stephen sipped. "To trying and failing to style Andromeda's hair for school every morning." They both laughed. Another clink. Another sip.

"To never ending the game even when we lose." Again.

"Okay Stark, enough with the clichés," Stephen said fondly. Still, neither of them had been able to wipe their tipsy grins from their faces.

Some time during their toast, Tony had taken hold of the hand Stephen lay resting on the table. He hadn't let go since, instead choosing to look intently into Stephen's eyes. "Has anyone ever told you how amazing your eyes are?"

He gazed down at their entwined fingers. "Actually, yes." He licked his lips as he stared at Tony, the wine making him feel very warm and confident.

"Well they would be right...shall we get outta here?"

"Yes, we've been here almost three hours."

"They say time flies when you're having fun." Tony sniggered. He was definitely as tipsy as Stephen - if not more so.

Stephen laughed and watched affectionately as Tony signalled for the bill. When Ferdy brought it, he rifled through his jacket pocket for his wallet. Stephen did the same. "I'll get this Strange."

"No, don't be silly. I don't mind."

"We could sit and do this all night but honestly - I'll get this one. Look, I always get a heavy discount here anyway."

Stephen looked at the bill and sure enough, there was 50% deducted from it. "Fine, but I'm getting the next one."

"What makes you think there's going to be a next one huh?" Tony threw down a wad of notes and stood, putting on his jacket.

Stephen laughed and followed suit. They left the restaurant after a long goodbye to Ferdy, and stepped out into the chilly October air. "Well tonight has been lovely." He said as they strolled down the street. There was barely anyone around, the glow of the streetlamp lighting up their faces.

"It's been alright." Tony joked. "What do you want to do, do you want me to walk you home or?"

"Walking to my house will take us around 45 minutes Stark. Then you'd have to come all the way back - I know you only live a few blocks away from here. I'll drop you off in a cab."

"No. I'll walk you home and then get a cab back. At least then we can see each other for longer."

"How sweet. Okay then." He suppressed a giggle as Tony took hold of his hand and began to walk towards Evergreen Avenue.

-

Once outside his home, Stephen stopped. "Well this is me."

Tony was in awe of the whole street. He knew Evergreen Avenue was the nice part of town, but to say the houses were big would have to be an understatement. Stephen's was amazing - from the neat bushes on his porch to the cream-painted wooden steps going up to the front door. Everything was so...Stephen. Prim and proper.

"My God if I lived here I don't think I'd ever leave the house."

Stephen snorted. "Yeah right. You called a cab, right?"

"Yeah it should be here any minute. Tonight was nice, Strange. When's our next one?"

"I don't know when I'll be able to get another night off. But maybe we can do something of a day time one day?"

"I could show you around my garage. I've invented quite a lot of stuff." He stopped and suddenly began looking nervous, scratching the back of his head and staring at the pavement. "But if not we could just see a movie or something."

 _How was this man in his forties?_ He was acting like a teenager. "No, I'd love to see your inventions." He wasn't acting any better, it seemed. "Is this your cab?" he nodded to the BMW coming around the corner.

"Yeah, I think so...I'll see you soon. Tonight was...great." He smiled that dopey grin and leaned in close to Stephen, whose eyes widened at first but then quickly met him in the middle so their lips would connect. The kiss was short, but oh boy was it sweet. Their tongues interlaced only once, but if Stephen was to describe the kiss with one word he would have said "fire".

Tony pulled away and stood back, still holding Stephen's hand. He looked dazed, running the fingers of his other hand over his lips. "Wow, erm...that was..." he trailed off. He still had that adorably lopsided grin. "I'll text you." The cab beeped. He let go of Stephen's hand and laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah...bye Strange." Flashing him one last wink he turned on his heel and jogged over to the car.

Stephen chuckled, still feeling his own lips as he waved goodbye to the other man. He stayed on the front porch until the cab was out of sight. Letting out the breath he never knew he'd been holding, he walked up to the front door on shaky legs and for a minute, stood with his back against it. He didn't want the night to end and he felt like it would as soon as he stepped through the door. He reflected on how the date had gone, chuckling at how lovely Tony actually seemed to be. He could still taste the other man's tongue in his mouth and his fingers felt like electricity was coursing through where they had been locked with the other man's. Stephen took one last longing look at the place he'd last seen the cab vanish and turned to put his key in the door. He still had that giddy smile as the door closed, the smell of home filling his nostrils and making it even wider. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Stephen have now been on numerous dates, but how will a day spent at the mechanic's home with with both of the kids turn out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about the amount of time it took to get this last chapter posted. I had severe writer's block for ages and then went through a phase of reading lots of other fics until I started believing that my writing style was garbage in comparison to everyone else's which made me lose motivation. But all the recent kudos and hits despite me not having updated has really helped me get it finished. Thank you for the support and I really hope you like the chapter!

"No. This is unacceptable. You can't just put it wherever you feel like." Stephen sat back in his chair with folded arms; a frown painting his face.

"I'm not moving it anywhere I feel like, I've put it under the snake." Tony pointed his finger at his counter, showing Stephen the snake's tail.

"You can't be serious? How is that-" he leant over the Snakes and Ladders board and pointed to Tony's counter. "-where the snake's tail ends? It blatantly ends there." He pointed to the square behind. "Do you really think I don't realise that you're trying to move it closer to the finish?"

"Honey I've moved my counter up about three ladders without you noticing since we started playing."

Tony and Andromeda both laughed as Stephen scowled. "Well fool you for telling me - you definitely won't be winning now." Stephen took the dice in his closed fist and rolled. Six. "Ha, see! I'll probably still win. Andromeda knows I'm the champion of Snakes and Ladders." Moving his red counter, he took the dice and once again rolled. Another six.

"I'm sure you've got some weird telekinetic power making it into a six all the time," Tony huffed. "I mean, what kind of Dad never let's their kid win?"

"Tony I've told you, it isn't winning if people allow you to win. Besides, Andromeda isn't a sore loser anyway."

Andromeda giggled and cupped her hand, leaning up to reach Tony's ear. "It's always me letting Daddy win!" He let out a bark of laughter, staring longingly at the man sitting opposite him. They were curently in Tony's home, having had plans to visit the zoo but deciding instead to stay at home and entertain themselves due to the skies filling the pavements of New York with terrential rain. Stephen and Tony had been dating for almost three months now, and the latter believed that things were going well. Amazing, in fact. Stephen had made the effort to book more days off work so they could spend more time together, and Tony was still getting to grips with how much of a delight both Stephen and his daughter seemed in their own unique ways. He had found that as well as being extremely intelligent, Andromeda was an excellent ballet dancer - having won half a dozen trophies. He'd attended one of her shows already, and had been invited to five or so more. The girl was also really good with Peter, who, when not with her, was constantly bugging Tony to see "Annie". To be fair to the kid, though, every minute he wasn't with Stephen they were constantly texting and speaking on the phone. At that moment, said toddler decided to let out a loud squeal, beginning to shift about in his highchair.

"Come on Pete, let's get you your dinner." He took Peter's green counter out of his hand (because what two-year-old could even participate in Snakes and Ladders?) and placed it on the table. "Want some too Andi?" he asked as he stood from the table. The first time he'd tested out the nickname, he had expected to get an earful from Stephen for shortening it to a boy's name or for even shortening it at all, but he had only raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly; claiming that he thought it was cute when Tony said it and that he would've complained if it were anybody else. "Aww, I'm important to you!" he'd cooed, to which he'd received a quiet "Of course you are," in reply. Stephen was a lot less pretentious and uptight as he had originally thought, he was finding.

"Yes please, can I have some spaghetti?"

"Sure. What do you want in it? I got Bolognese, meatballs...or I could fetch some worms outta the garden and put them in instead of the spaghetti if you want?"

Andi made a face whilst Stephen laughed - the sound of it making Tony's heart flutter. "She likes meatballs, I'll help with it. Are you okay here with Peter sweetheart?" After she eagerly nodded, Stephen got out of his seat and followed Tony into the kitchen, stroking Peter's hair on the way out.

-

Once in the kitchen, the two men went about preparing meals for their children. At first, Stephen mostly just passed things to Tony as he was unaware of each ingredients' location. Soon enough, however, Tony was finding how much the Doctor actually enjoyed being in a kitchen; eventually deciding to stand back just to merely watch him preparing the food himself. "What, you think that because I'm all rough and ragged in the garage I can't cook a meal properly? I can be scruffy _and_ sophisticated, y'know," he pouted, feigning offence.

"Please, you look so out of place - you picked up the salt-shaker and I half-expected you to start trying to rewire it. Watching you cook makes me anxious." Stephen threw a smug look his way, before checking on the meatballs whilst continuing to stir the spaghetti at the same time.

Tony had to admit he wasn't the best cook - Pepper used to take care of all that stuff. But hell if he was going to let Stephen know that. "Oh yeah? I'll show you what's out of place!" and he proceeded to put down the cutlery he'd been using to cut up Peter's waffle and close the distance between them and reach up his hand, vigorously ruffling Stephen's perfectly styled hair.

Stephen jerked away, holding the wooden spoon he'd been using to stir the spaghetti out in front of him like a shield. "What the hell?"

Tony stood with his arms folded, laughing at the ridiculousness of his pose. Stephen turned to view his hair in the reflective metal of the pan. "That was the most immature thing I've ever witnessed an adult do."

"Meh," Tony replied with a smirk, going back to the waffle. He squirted ketchup on the side of the plate, seeing the Doctor trying to smooth down his hair out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards the fridge, planning on getting Peter a bottle of juice. On the way, however, Stephen had at some point gotten control of his black and silver locks and was now standing in front of him; blocking his path. He had a sly grin painted on his face, and before Tony could get a word out he'd lifted an arm and started to shake salt from the shaker into his hair. "Ahh shit, stop-" he covered his head and ducked for cover, feeling the grains falling onto his face and down his back. He could taste it on his tongue. "Damn Strange, I'm gonna look like I've got lice now!" he tried shaking as much as he could out with his fingers. Stephen was laughing hysterically, making the skin near his eyelids and corners of his mouth crease dramatically. It made him look ten or so years younger, Tony thought. If he didn't have to bring Peter his dinner he probably would have chosen this as a perfect moment to throw him up against one of the appliances and kiss him. "You just wait." He got Peter's drink from the fridge and took it into the living room. Peter and Andi were both still sat at the table, watching some show about a cartoon zoo with talking animals. Andi was in the middle of telling his two-year-old the in's and out's about why the elephant was her favourite. "We're bringing your food in now kids so be ready." He made sure Peter was sitting safely at the table before re-entering the kitchen - where Stephen was getting ready to leave with a juicebox in one hand and bowl of spaghetti and meatballs in the other. A thought crossed Tony's mind and he smiled, quickly skipping around Stephen and grabbing Peter's plate of waffles. The Doctor was just walking through the door to the living room when Tony caught up to him, now walking beside him. Looking sideways, he saw that Stephen was concentrating on not spilling or dropping anything. _Perfect_. With one finger, he scooped some of the ketchup that was on the side of Peter's plate and scraped it down Stephen's nose and right cheek. The look on his face made not only him, but also Andi to double over in hysterics - watching as he became at a loss for what to do with his nose full of sauce and hands full of Andi's dinner. Oh, how fun it was to watch him struggle.

"For God's sake!" he whined eventually, going cross-eyed as he tried to look at the mess. He finally found the common sense to put down his daughter's food on the table and use a napkin to get rid of it. "Ugh my nose is all sticky now! You're going to pay for that Stark." His eyes were narrowed as he took in the mechanic holding onto his sides with his glasses almost falling from his face from the way body was shaking with laughter, but soon began to begrudgingly chuckle as he saw that both Andi and even Peter were laughing. "I'm going to get you back, you wait." His chuckles soon turned into full blown fits of giggles as he tried dabbing at his nose and tilting his head in ridiculous angles to attempt to see where he'd missed. Tony watched him, finally gaining enough control over himself to notice how amazing Stephen's laugh was. Because it wasn't just a laugh. It was a genuine laugh - the importance of it amplified by one-hundred by the fact that it was coming from the belly of someone who Tony deduced hadn't laughed like that in years. The children were still laughing at the idiocy of the whole thing, but the two men had, at some point, stopped to stare at one another from some ten foot apart. The smile the Doctor wore was the same one Tony had thought was only reserved for Andi - the look in his eyes only describable as radiating "fondness". Tony's heart warmed as he took this in, flashing Stephen a smile he usually saved only for Peter. Even without a mirror, he knew it mimicked Stephen's.

-

"I have to admit, it was funny. But that doesn't under any circumstances get you off the hook."

"Yeah, yeah, so you keep saying."

"Oh, you don't believe me? I'll get you when you least expect."

"Please, after the sauce I put you on your ass in twister and you almost put a hole in the TV playing wii sports. I don't think you could embarrass yourself more and I doubt I'd be able to top that in terms of humiliation."  
They both chuckled. It had been four hours since dinner - the children having both fallen asleep snuggled up to their Dads halfway through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Tony had put Peter to sleep in his racing car bed, but not before suggesting that Stephen bring Andi up to the spare room so she'd be more comfortable. He was hesitant at first, but didn't want her to get a crick in her neck. After carrying her upstairs, tucking her in and kissing her head, Stephen had gone back downstairs to join Tony in the living room. He entered to find the man pouring out two glasses of wine.

"What's this? I thought you weren't a wine guy?"

"Well I saw this in the store and I thought it looked right up your street. I got a few bottles and thought I'd give it a try. And it actually-" he sat down and sipped at his glass; smacking his lips. "-ain't bad."

Stephen took a sip himself and nodded his approval. "It's lovely, but are you actually choosing to drink this over your whisky?"

Tony chuckled as he thought of his next words. "What can I say? I've found myself changing quite a bit over these past few months." He flashed Stephen a knowing smile, watching with glee as the Doctor immediately began to blush and hastily sip at his wine. Tony wanted so badly to shift closer to the man and place a hand on his knee, or even be an idiotic cliche and stretch an arm around the man's shoulders whilst pretending to yawn. He wanted to - so badly, but there was something holding him back.  It was as if the confidence he was graced with not five minutes earlier had left his body as suddenly as would a sharp gust of wind. He clasped his fingers together atop of his knees - torn between wanting so much to reach for Stephen and being scared that something would go wrong if he did.

"Is everything okay?" the man was staring at him now, with an intense worry clouding those celestial-coloured eyes of his.

"Yep. Good." Tony clicked the joints in his fingers and looked away. He cleared his throat and swallowed the unexplainable fear in his gut. "So, Strange," he drawled. "Do you like your mechanics how you like your wine?"  
 He raised an eyebrow at that.

"Well if that statement were true then you wouldn't be my type at all. My wine would have to be oily and dirty."

"Excuse me, are you calling me oily and dirty?"

Stephen laughed. "Yes, although I know you make an effort when you're with me so I suppose I could compare you in the sense that at a glance my wine can seem murky and distasteful for some, but for me is strong, sweet and always garauntees me a great night."

Tony mulled that comparison over. "Seems about right." Stephen hit him with a cushion. "Hey, but I can definitely say it's true for me - I like my Doctors how I like my whisky. Mature, sophisticated and a beautiful specimen to see in a supermarket."  
There was that blush again. Tony loved it. He wanted to see that colour against the soft skin of the Doctor's cheeks all the time. _Every damn day_. He sipped at his wine and risked a glance at Stephen. He was picking something off his shirt with a giddy smile on his face. _What's stopping you, you idiot?_ Said a voice. Tony had a hunch, but didn't want to think more about it because he was terrified of that hunch consuming him. _Just talk to him about her,_ it said again. He sighed. Then, with caution: "...Stephen?"

"Hmm?"

"How would you feel about...y'know?"

"What?"

Tony grimaced. Why did he sound so shy? He was never like this. He sighed again and decided to bite his tongue and swallow this weird fear that was threatening to rip at his insides. Stephen was a Doctor after all. He of all people will understand, right? "Look, I wanna be with you. Like, for real. Damn, I even want you and Andi to move in with me and Pete so we can spend the rest of our lives making a mess of theirs together. I love her like she's mine and I damn-well know I love you too." He didn't stop to let Stephen reply, wanting to get this mess of a monologue over with. He was scared to look him in the eye. "But...there's still Pepper - who I still miss like crazy and who I can't just forget. And as much as I try to hide it and tell myself otherwise - I'm a mess. I have nightmares and panic attacks all the time and there are days where I neglect my son's emotional needs merely because I've been neglecting my own even more. There are days where I forget to eat because I'm working in the garage so much. ...I've been throwing this around in my head near enough since meeting you and now I'm certain that...I've fallen in love with you. Really hard. But...I'm scared incase my feelings for Pepper could get in the way of us." He stopped, his breathing heavy. He didn't want to go any further yet, as he didn't even know if Stephen actually returned his feelings. His body was full of uncertainty as he waited for Stephen to reply.

After a minute, the Doctor smiled. "I never entered this expecting it to be easy. I knew from the minute I met you that you were complicated. Then I found out you were just as complicated as me and I hadn't felt as connected with anyone as I was with you in such a long time. We have so much in common and I feel like it's brought us together and bandaged our wounds. Well - mine at least." He paused for a second then took a deep breath. "I never would have expected you to have gotten over your wife - especially since it wasn't long since you lost her. I'm still mourning Christine like it was yesterday. There have been bad days for me too. I've almost lost patients on the operating table because of how much her death destroyed me, and the amount of school performances I missed because I didn't want to be around people is ridiculous. But I found out that surrounding yourself with people - especially those just like you and with those that care is the best remedy. Andi got me through just as I know Peter is you." Tony felt his hands being lifted; the Doctor having entwined their fingers together. "I love you too, Tony. I can feel it every time I see you or even get a message or call from you. You're amazing with my daughter and Peter is one of the sweetest children I've ever known. Every time I'm away from you I want nothing more than to be with you. Every time Andromeda is away from Peter she's begging to see him. I know we both have our scars, but we can help each other heal. I know we can."

Tony let out a bark of shaky laughter as he gazed at their entwined fingers. "I can't say I'm gonna be easy to be with all the time. I mean, I guess I'm just scared incase we don't work because I want this to work so badly. I know I've been lonely, and you're basically the first real person I've got close to since it happened - let alone fell in love with."  
The two were so close that Tony could feel Stephen's breath on his skin; could see every little freckle on his bearded face. He let out another little laugh and leant in towards the Doctor - lips meeting lips a second later. The kiss was without tongue. It was sweet and chaste, like that of a couple who had seen a thousand moons wrapped in each other's arms. When Tony pulled away, he made sure to give Stephen the most loving smile he could muster. Well, it was a sexy smile at least. "Will you stay the night?"

Stephen's eyes widened slightly but then so did his smile. "Yes."

-

After taking Stephen to bed, the rest of the night was spent with the two not only making love, but also making promises to fix every one of each other's flaws and pull each other through every hardship. After hours, they lay content in each other's embrace, kissing away every bead of sweat and inkling of fear as the sun came streaming through the windows. They both knew it would be challenging - but together, with both of their children, they would knit each other back together somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is always welcome and appreciated! :)


End file.
